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Q & A on Technology with Kentucky's Secretary
of State
February
3, 2004
Techlines talks with Trey Grayson, Kentucky's new Secretary
of State about the importance of supporting technology to
deliver services to citizens and businesses in Kentucky:
What on-line services do you have planned for
the future?
This is a particularly exciting time in our office. We are currently
instituting a Bill Imaging System that we hope to have running
around the time that Governor Fletcher signs his first bill into
law. This would allow interested parties to access a scanned version
of actual signed legislation as well as certain portions of the
Governor’s executive journal.
We are also extremely proud of a new service coming to our
Website called “Live Help,” developed in conjunction
with the Kentucky.gov Portal Team. This will allow anyone who
is filing a form on-line the opportunity to ask a question of
our staff in real-time without having to call our office or discard
the form with which they are currently working. This will be achieved
by utilizing a chat format. This will be particularly helpful
with those individuals who use dial-up Internet and do not have
an extra line available to call our office with their questions.
In the upcoming months we are looking at the possibility of creating
new on-line programs including: a Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)
tracking system, a system to file articles of incorporation on-line,
as well as an on-line system to allow companies to obtain a certificate
of good standing.
How is technology helping the SOS’s office
increase efficiency?
By utilizing the technological resources
available to our office, we have been able to more efficiently
use our staff. For instance, by adding the Bill Imaging System
on-line, we will reduce the amount of staff time that is dedicated
to procuring copies of bills that have been signed into law. Similar
efficiencies have been found in the other on-line programs that
we have implemented. This increased efficiency not only serves
as better stewardship of the citizens’ tax dollars but also
allows our staff more time to help citizens with questions they
may have.
We have also reduced the amount of paper supplies
necessary for our office to function. Again this serves as a cheaper
alternative for our programs but also makes our office more environmentally
friendly. We are always looking for more environmentally conscious
ways of serving Kentucky. Technology, without a doubt, helps us
achieve that goal. Similarly, because of the increase in electronic
transactions, we have cut considerable postage costs.
How have citizens and businesses embraced your
on-line services?
We have received numerous anecdotal responses
to the services that we provide on-line. More importantly, we
have seen a dramatic increase in the use of these services. Our
on-line Business Database Search has nearly 3,200 hits per day,
while our Business Name Availability Search and Business Filing
Forms pages have nearly 900 hits per day. We also had 9,425 companies
file their annual reports on-line in FY 2002-03. Our Corporate
Filing system processed over 217,946 actions during that fiscal
year.
We will be working with individuals and corporations
who regularly use our services in order to provide greater access
and efficiency in our office. Technology is going to be a focus
during our term. We will continue to look at every possibility
in order to provide the best service to the Commonwealth. In the
upcoming years, we hope that technology becomes an even more important
aspect of our office. We have some of the greatest technological
minds in state government working for us. With this talent, we
will continue to revolutionize the way Kentucky does business!
Visit the Secretary of State's Website at: http://sos.ky.gov
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